Jace's Birthday in Snapshots

Mommy is feeling a little lazy tonight and is going to try and keep the commentary to a minimum. Try being the key word. She tends to get a little wordy when she is talking about things as cool as her firstborn's 4th birthday!

To sum everything up, Jace had a wonderful day complete with chocolate milk, lots of fun at Tricia's house, Chuck E Cheese, a Jace size cake, and presents. What more could a 4-year-old want?

Except to be 3 again. Yep, you read that right. Jace was so worked up over the whole 'I have to stop sucking my thumb when I'm 4' thing that it was ruining his day. He said he just wanted to be 3 again. Mommy's poor heart broke of course and she called off the whole stinkin' thing. What a pushover that Mommy is! If Jace is still sucking his thumb at 17, everyone will know whose fault it is!

Mommy decided that today was a new day and presented Jace with his reward chart tonight. A beautifully designed reward chart Mommy spent part of the afternoon coloring and measuring just right. She had sparkling stickers and promises of yummy treats and new toys with Jace's success. She even had a 'Thumb Sucking Song' to sing with him.

Jace's response...no.

Daddy's response...please don't ever sing that song again.

See, there Mommy goes being wordy again. Back to the birthday pictures....

The celebration actually started the night before Jace's birthday with he and Mommy whipping up some cupcakes for his friends. Mommy and Jace may or may not have sampled 2...or 3...ok but they split the 4th one!



Not too shabby....for a baker's wife right?



The birthday boy!



Tricia had her house decorated just for Jace complete with streamers and balloons!



And silly glasses



Daddy surprised Jace with his own pint size cake...since he hadn't had several (ahem) cupcakes the night before.



Nice form! His Momma must have taught him that!



Does this girl have a care in the world?



Nope.



Presents!



After he thought all the presents had been opened, Daddy went and brought up the big finale.



A CARS BIKE!



Whew! Just talking about the day wears Mommy out. She's off to soak in her bath. After 2 weeks off, this working thing will wear a girl out! Here's to many a snow day in the near future!

Shut it Daddy.

Pictures of Christmas with Nana and Papa coming soon.....

Happy Birthday Jace!

Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest boys around! Mommy can't believe it was 4 years ago today (on a 48 degree day in January) that you came into this world. You have been such an easy baby and now boy to take care of. Typically happy and rarely defiant (Mommy may eat her words on this one).

Jace, at 4 years old you:

*wear a size 4T and a size 10 shoe.

*your favorite foods include chicken nuggets, cheese sandwiches, spaghetti, carrots, milk, chocolate, and anything sweet.

*Mommy is unsure of your exact measurements (you have a checkup this week) but she is guessing 33-34 pounds and 40 or so inches tall.

*Love dinosaurs, anything with wheels, trains, watching movies, eating sweets, animals, and playing with friends.

*Your favorite things right now are Cars and Scooby Doo. You just received Toy Story for Christmas so this may be a new obsession. Thomas has fallen a little bit to the wayside but you still play with your train table daily.

*you are an amazing big brother. You and Lexa have begun to butt heads a little as she has gotten older and more mobile. However, you continue to look out for her and play with her constantly.

*you go to Tricia's during the day and love it there! Your friends there are Morgan, Molly, and Joshua. Morgan is your best friend in the entire world and you talk about her constantly.

*you love, LOVE, love babies. They seem to adore you just as much and laugh and giggle whenever you are around.

*you are very excited for preschool next year and point out your school daily when you and Mommy drive by.

*you have vowed to stop sucking your thumb at age 4. Time will tell.....

*you are one of the most amazing little men Mommy has ever met. Sometimes she can't believe how polite you are and what a good listener you can be. You are a people pleaser (most of the time of course)and are a rule follower. You also are very literal and like things in order.

*you have really come out of your shell in the last year or so. You took swimming lessons and conquered your fear of the water. You are also much less timid and are very social. You talk Mommy and Daddy's ears off daily.

*you are such a smart little guy (anytime Mommy tells you this you point out that you are also sweet) with a crazy memory. You remember details (like who gave you the white stuffed dog for Easter when you were 2)and facts very well. You love learning and are working on reading a few sight words and using letter sounds. You also are able to rhyme and segment compound words. You can write your name after a model and are quick to point out letters and sounds on store signs and buildings you see while driving.

*you are the bestest little Jacer anyone could ask for. Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more proud of you and talk about that nearly every day. Happy Birthday to a very special guy! Mommy hopes all your wishes come true always!

Happy New Year!

You will notice that Mommy was looking particularly smashing last evening. That's just how she rolls.

It Started With Red Pancakes.....

Christmas 2010 began with making red pancakes on the eve of Christmas Eve. They were extremely yummy but Mommy made a mental note not to give them to Lexa again. Next time hers will be cooked before the food coloring is put in...just know it's not pretty when it comes out in the diaper!



Christmas Eve turned into a little bit of a disappointment as there was something like 10.5 inches of snow in these parts. Needless to say, the trip to see Nana, Papa and the rest of the family was not made.

Daddy, Mommy, Jace, and Lexa made do by attending church in town







Starting a new tradition of opening a new pair of p.j.'s on Christmas Eve





And making cookies for Santa (that Mommy burned. Actually she not only burned the cookies, but she burned a hole right through the kitchen towel trying to get them out of the oven) and leaving carrots and green beans for Rudolph.



Leaving green beans may seem strange but Jace was adamant. He was even certain that 5 was the magic number that should be left. Low and behold, Rudolph ate every single one!



It seems Mommy had the most difficult time sleeping Christmas Eve and was the first one up and waiting on Christmas morning. She may or may not have made unnecessary noise to speed up the process.

Mommy also must remember to tell Santa (for next year's sanity) that he should look over presents more carefully before putting them under the tree. A 100 piece Scooby Doo puzzle is just not the smartest idea for a 3-year old who wants to put it together 95 times a day.

Anywho, back to Christmas morning.

Stockings were found and presents were ripped apart.





Mommy is really going to be sad when she can no longer pull off 'necessities' such as a car seat as a Christmas gift.



Once the final bow was ripped (and Mommy made her Starbucks run) it was time to head to Grandma and Grandpa's for some more X-mas fun!



Christmas night was spent with Grandma's side of the family eating and eating. Oh and there was some eating too.



Jace and Grandma always find time to cook together. The menu on this particular night was chicken noodle soup.



A random shot of Bean hanging out at her Grandma and Grandpa's.



Erin, Tom, and Keegan. Keegan is the one shaped like a basketball.



There was a baby shower for Erin.



Jacer even became the proud new owner of a REAL camera.



One of Mommy's best and oldest friends was also in town with her little bambino. Cameron and Lexa will most likely be married. However, since Lexa is not able to date until she is 25, the wedding is in the very distant future.



It is always good to get a bite to eat with your future spouse while the parents are still footing the bill...and make sure your brother approves of your choice. Of course he did...not sure how he will feel once Cameron has hair and can stand on 2 feet.



Cameron's cousin Warren was in town too and made a great play buddy for Jace.



Lexa even tried out some of Cameron's Grandma's fun things.



Her favorite was this rocking chair....



And this is where the story of Christmas 2010 comes to an end. Lexa and Jacer were getting pretty tuckered out so the crew headed home to rest up before the next round. And Jacer's birthday which is rapidly approaching!

Peanut.

Miss Lexa. The older she gets the more apparent her 'peanutness' becomes. Of course she is Mommy's child so undoubtedly nobody expected her to be 6 ft. tall! Or much over 5 ft. for that matter.



Bean had her 9-month checkup at the Dr. yesterday. She weighed in at a whopping 17.1 lbs (22nd percentile) and 26.5 inches long (18th percentile)! She is a tiny little bundle of personality...and Mommy really does love her size. What Lexa lacks in height she makes up for in hair!! That seems to be a common theme among Mommy and Daddy's offspring....

The rest of Lexa's checkup was great. No shots this visit...except for her second dose of the flu vaccine. The Dr. thought she may take a few steps soon. Say it ain't so!!
Actually Mommy isn't so sure....while Lexa does love to be on her feet and has no fear, she is still pretty unsteady. Only time will tell but Mommy is putting in a wish for as close to March as possible!

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Mommy thought since this is the season of giving she would throw out a couple of random pictures for your viewing pleasure.....

Chuck and Denise sent Jacer and Lexa some p.j.'s for Christmas. Mommy wasn't thinking and let them see the package. Needless to say, they opened their gift a little early. Aren't they too cute!!



P.S. on the personalization...somebody besides Mommy needs to talk some sense into that boy. Most people call him 'Jacer' now and he is convinced his name is spelled J-A-C-E-R. Mommy has tried explain that there is no /r/ but he is a stubborn one!

Mommy took this random shot of herself and Lexa the other night....it just tickled Mommy how that sweet little girl was looking at her



Mommy's experiment with cake pops...she had a very willing taste tester.



They passed the test!

Just Dance.

Jace and Lexa received musical cards in the mail from Rita. They spent the next several hours dancing.

Mommy is not joking. Lexa even threw up because of all the shimmying she did after eating.

He*l May Have Frozen Over

If you are curious as to why Mommy thinks this, check out the picture below.



That’s right folks. Lexa is scared stiff of Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, friendly old ladies at the store, (and the list goes on) but put her on the lap of a goofy guy in a red suit with an overflowing beard and she is cool as a cucumber.
Mommy was snapping pictures as quickly as possible to get a good one before the waterworks were turned on. But...those tears NEVER CAME. Lexa sat there like it was her job!

Now that Mommy has shared her utter disbelief with you, allow her to give you a little background.

Santa visited the kids at Tricia’s house yesterday. Mommy knew Jace would be ecstatic, thrilled, over the top excited, etc., etc. and he did not disappoint.



He sat on his lap and had a little chat



And even received a gift!



After Lexa sat so calmly, Mommy was even able to get a picture with both smiling children. (Ok, Lexa isn’t smiling but this expression while sitting on Santa’s lap equals pure bliss in ‘Lexa Land’.)



THIS is pure, PURE bliss